No one enters into a partnership with someone they believe might defraud them and then try to cut them out of the very business they created. Sadly, this happened to our client who formed a specialty practice with his medical colleague. To his frustration, when a national healthcare organization approached his partner, that same partner bolted to start a competing company with the same information, structure and goals as the one our client helped to start.
Challenge:
Our client contended that his partner breach his fiduciary duty by conspiring with and secretly accepting financial consideration from the national company and attempting to conceal this information, in addition to other acts of fraud, misrepresentation, and breaches of contract. A jury would need to see and understand the underhanded manipulation of the ex-partner, as well as the encouragement and participation by the national group to achieve the maximum economic verdict, made necessary by the destruction of our client’s practice.
Solution:
With multiple adversaries, at times, the key is finding a pressure point that will turn them against each other. Dogmatic focus was given to constantly placing the ex-partner and national company in positions where frustration led to testimony by one implicating the other as the party responsible for the wrongdoing and damage. At that point, the defendants became their own adversaries and worst enemies.
Result:
The jury awarded a $6,430,000.00 verdict including both actual and punitive damages against the ex-partner and national healthcare organization.